


(COMPLETE) Love Isn't Conditional

by ElSandersWrites



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Background Deceit | Janus Sanders, Background Sleep | Remy Sanders, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, Family, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gen, Kid Sides (Sanders Sides), M/M, Mutual Pining, No Angst, Toddlers, Two Fathers, janus and Remy are mentioned but hardly in this, kid friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElSandersWrites/pseuds/ElSandersWrites
Summary: Look at me writing Logince and not analogical (analogical is only platonic here don't worry)*****Roman and Logan are fathers, with Patton and Virgil as their 3 year old kids respectively. Roman is newly single, and Logan refuses to be in a relationship having given up on love.But when the two meet, things are bound to change.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dr. Emile Picani, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dr. Emile Picani, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders & Dr. Emile Picani
Comments: 29
Kudos: 90





	1. One Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work might appear to be that Logan is asexual or under the asexual umbrella - There is romance at the end so I think it's up to interpretation what you think Logan's (and Roman's to a certain extent) identity is.
> 
> Just remember that you are valid whatever your experience with love and identity is!

“I don’t want to see you or that spawn again.” The calm and calculated voice echoed again and again in Roman’s head as he carried his sleeping son out of his house at 4am. He’d had an argument with his fiancé – now ex-fiancé – Janus Sceptre about their son’s daycare. It resulted in past arguments being brought up, one thing lead to another and now Roman was strapping his son into his car seat being as quiet as possible. He should have seen it coming, Janus was never fond of little Patton and only agreed to adopt him to make Roman happy.

Patton stirred, turning his head to the side before realising he was placed in his fluffy baby blue car seat. He opened his eyes slowly seeing his father start the car. “Daddy? Where are we going?” He said tiredly, not opening his eyes completely yet.

“We’re just visiting Grandpas and Uncle Remus, it’s alright Pattoncake.”

Roman didn’t know if he completely fucked everything up. But he needed to give his 3 year old son a better life, Patton had witnessed way too many arguments in his young life and Roman needed to change that. He was just lucky his twin brother had no sleep schedule so he and Patton were welcome to move back into Roman’s childhood home at 4am and stay until he found his feet. He told his son the move was only a ‘visit’ to not further traumatise him, hopefully he’d just forget about the home he’s lived in since he was a few months old within the week. That seemed like a perfectly logical train of thought.

The world around Roman and his son became less built up by the minute, skyscrapers became stars and cement roads became dirt. Roman had moved to the city with his ex after college, hours from home. He remembered his old optimism, thinking he and Janus would grow old together with a beautiful and amazing family. Now he had a beautiful and amazing family, just not a fiancé. And he was going back to the small village he grew up in – when he and his twin were adopted at 6 by a therapist and barista. And that would now be his son’s home.

Roman finally let out a breath as he parked his car in front of his childhood home. He held his son for a moment and admired the atmosphere, a sense of security coming around him as he grasped onto his fast asleep son. The front door opened, revealing his Dad in a baby pink dressing gown with extreme bed hair. “Bubble-gum come inside, you and your kiddo will get cold.” His dad chirped quietly, reminding Roman he was still in his pyjamas. The warm house hit him as soon as he walked in. His father still stood close, brushing his fingers through his grandson’s hair and smiling. “He’s gotten bigger since last Christmas, your arms must be killing you!”

“He’s quite light seeming all the cookies he eats.” Roman chuckled, kissing his son’s forehead with adoration lining his eyes. “Is everything set up in my room for us?”

Roman’s Dad sighed, stepping back from brushing his hand through his grandson’s hair. “Remus wanted to see if the flamethrower could destroy the air mattress since the packaging was fireproof – so there’s only one bed.”

“That seems like Remus…” Roman sighed, giving his sleepy son a quick cuddle. He then walked upstairs and to the second door on the right, the bedroom he had as a child. He used to share a bedroom with his twin brother but once Remus started getting a bit more – chaotic – a wall was built between their beds to make it two rooms. Remus still lived at home so his snoring could be heard as Roman placed Patton in bed.

Roman sat next to his son and tucked him into the only bed, giving him a kiss on the forehead, stroking his hair and placing his small round glasses on the bedside table that were previously in his pocket. Roman loved Patton’s hair, it was always so soft and curly and a beautiful gold. Roman loved the colour gold. It’s what attracted him to the little baby, the tuft of golden hair on his adoption paper pictures along with the wide innocent smile.

Patton mumbled to himself and sucked his thumb making Roman chuckle. He was so small and innocent, and his entire life had changed in a day. He used to have two dads, was excited to be ringbearer and wear a light blue tux in their Disney themed wedding. And now it’s over. Roman looked at his engagement ring, a pearl surrounded by rubies and yellow topazes. Slowly he took the ring off, showing a pink mark where it used to be. The only thing he could focus on was throwing the ring in the Disney trashcan in the corner of the room.

For the first time in a few hours Roman started to experience tears. He covered his eyes, taking a deep breath in to avoid choking and making a noise. He just held his son’s hand and waited, holding his breath until the emotions faded away. This was best for his son, it was difficult but in 10 or 15 years Patton would thank him for getting them out that situation. And to look at the positives, before this move Patton only saw his extended family on Christmas and birthdays, but now they’d be together every day. Patton did love his Grampy Emile.

One thing’s for certain, whatever he’d do he’d do it for his son: Patton Abraham Windsor.

*****

Logan let out a soft yawn while opening the door. “Vergie… Time to wake up buddy.” He smiled, watching his little toddler turn in his bed and look up at him. “Good morning!” He whispered, opening the purple spider curtains to reveal the sunlight. “Daddy’s taking you to work today.”

Virgil turned onto his back and reached his hands up in a grabbing motion with one hand, clutching his kitten teddy in the other. Logan smiled and picked the little boy up, holding him close and letting him snuggle in. He was so lucky Logan’s boss allowed Virgil to stay by Logan’s desk. Virgil didn’t like daycare or babysitters.

To be fair it was Logan’s boss’ advice for Logan to adopt a kid. Logan had a habit of overworking, so even though all the work was done on time Logan’s health was taking hit after hit. After Logan’s 25th sick day his boss commanded he extended his family so he wouldn’t be working all the time. A few days later he saw a post on Facebook of a little premature baby abandoned at the hospital, and he had to put that kid in safe hands.

Virgil was a bit more awake and watching his father with a wide smile, his large eyes on his small face expanded in love. Logan gave his son a kiss on the forehead. “You want to wear a suit and tie like Daddy?”

“Hoodie please?”

“Kiddo you need to look professional.”

“Hoodie.” Virgil demanded. In his three years of life Virgil was very good at getting exactly what he wanted from his father, he was a professional at it. Said hoodie was a black one that Logan believed his son would grow into, as Virgil was always incredibly small for his age. So it was oversized and had several sewn purple pieces on from Virgil running too fast past brambles or a kid playing rough with him in the playground. Overall it was very, very tacky and not work attire – but he couldn’t say no to his son’s little smile. Logan sighed and got the hoodie out the wardrobe, his son attached to him at the hip. The little giggle when Virgil realised he got his way was all worth it. “Yay! I love you Dad…”

“Love you too kiddo, more than anything.” And it was true, Virgil was the most important person in the world to Logan. As soon as he was allowed to hold him, when Virgil was only a few weeks old, Logan felt an immense amount of love that he’d never felt before. Most people called him crazy for raising a son on his own, but Logan felt as though he had to. No guy, no matter how attractive they were, was in any way close to reaching the love Logan felt for his son. 

Logan didn’t like to call it love. Love was too conditional. Adoration didn’t fit either, adoration was too weak. So Logan cherished his son. It fit for some reason. People judged everything to do with Logan and his son, including Logan’s choice of middle name. As soon as he figured out ‘cherish’ fit his feelings that became Virgil’s middle name. Apparently it was a girl’s name but he didn’t care, it fit his son.

And the day continued as every day does in the life of Logan and his son: Virgil Cherish Yerkes-Dodson.


	2. The Man at the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman takes his son to the play park he went to as a child, and meets a nice stranger through Patton's adorable social skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remy is mentioned (yes he's Roman and Remus' other parent) but he doesn't actually appear at all in the book. He just exists and is mentioned once or twice.
> 
> Also in this AU I imagined Virgil as black/mixed race - so tell me if any of his descriptions are wrong or offensive. Logan is not biologically related so Logan I can imagine is just typical white dude.

Roman walked into the kitchen to make his and his son lunch, acting as though he was in his own house to avoid confronting the reality that he walked out on his five year long relationship. The relationship he thought would last until his death in the retirement home, and that he’d have his perfect 3 kids and white picket fence family with. Patton, his only yet most loved child, was sat at the dining table with his Uncle Remus, playing with his play-doh bakery while Remus ate. Roman gave a nod to his brother and began cutting bread.

“What you eating Uncle?” Patton asked curiously, pouring play-doh from one container to another and keeping his eyes on Remus. Remus looked up and tilted his head midway through eating, a small mischievous smile appearing as he ruffled his dyed green hair.

“Pickles and ice cream, want some?” He said, dipping a pickle in the vanilla ice cream and reaching forward so the disgusting phenomenon of chaos was in Patton’s grasp. Patton luckily wasn’t feeling adventurous and just glanced at his dad confused, not touching the mixture.

“Pattoncake’s about to have sandwiches. He can have ice cream for dessert.”

Remus glanced at Roman in shock as if that sentence was some kind of alien concept. Roman knew at that age he would have definitely eaten pickles and ice cream with his twin brother for lunch but he hoped to make his son’s life less chaotic. That didn’t mean Roman was the best at mealtimes, sometimes he’d create a weird concoction for a meal and share it with Patton – Crofters tomato soup was their favourite. Sometimes they would have their meals at weird times too, Roman wasn’t at all organised and Janus – the ex-fiancé who was good with time management – was mostly absent. “Hey, kid, can I eat some of your play-doh once it’s done in your oven?”

Of course Remus wanted to eat play-doh. 

“Do you want to go to the play park after lunch Puffball?” Roman asked his son to interrupt his brother being poisoned, squishing Patton’s cheek and placing sandwiches in front of him. Patton nodded excitedly and began to eat, making Roman chuckle softly. Remus rolled his eyes at the lack of play-doh given to him by the 3 year old. “Good, just don’t eat anything Uncle gives you bud, and don’t give him play-doh.”

“You’re such a Dad bro. It’s boring.” Remus sighed, leaning back in his chair. Roman laughed, watching his son eat and play, feeling like the luckiest man in the world with his little adorable toddler.

After a few hours Roman and Patton finally made it to the park. He knew this park like the back of his hand, spending way too many hours on the swing set as a teenager and hours upon hours of his childhood in the play area. It was also extremely scenic and peaceful, the benches were shaded by trees and faced the play park, and birds always chirped sweetly especially in the current season of summer. He remembered when it was autumn and the leaves were falling on the benches. That’s where he had his first kiss with Janus, sitting on a bench, skipping college classes for a date. It was such a romantic moment that seemed like an alternate timeline. It seemed impossible he’d be kissed like that again.

“Daddy can I go play?” Patton’s voice interrupted Roman’s memories of the ‘good old days’ that were slowly being corrupted. He nodded, making sure it was safe first of course, and the toddler ran off towards the play area. Roman kept his eyes on him, staying standing on the stone path for now instead of sitting on the bench. The benches held too many memories, and he wasn’t disturbing many people by standing. Patton played happily, talking and joining in with other kids like he’d known them for years. It seemed just like Remus and Roman were as children, playing in the same play area and making friends that had likely moved to the city or across state. Roman could never just absorb a friendship after a few minutes, it took at least a day unlike Patton’s power, Roman was always proud of his son’s endless enthusiasm. 

Roman watched the other parents on the benches. They were all either on their phone, engaging with their kids’ play or entertaining a younger child in a pushchair. Most were mothers, the small village fell heavily into gender stereotypes although it was accepting. He knew most of the parents from high school. Roman would probably never find a new partner in his old childhood village, and he was becoming alright with that.

The only adult talking was a father, who Roman didn’t recognise from high school or childhood games, wearing a black suit with a dark blue tie and whispering to a very small child in an oversized hoodie. The child looked scared out of his life and was grabbing onto the man, while the man was trying to encourage the kid to play. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence for a child to be too scared to play, maybe the reason he was so interested in the father and son was because of how small the little boy was. Patton wasn’t tall for his age but this kid would probably only reach Patton’s shoulder, and they definitely seemed the same age. Roman would say the kid was absolutely adorable, with his curly black hair and mocha skin with dark freckles and bright brown eyes, but no-one was allowed to compete with his little ball of cuteness.

“Does he want to play?” He heard Patton’s voice say until he registered that his son had ran up to the scared boy and was trying to drag him to the play area. Poor Patton never understood social rules and was easily overexcited around new people. Roman had to speed run to his toddler. “It’s OK! I can play with you and be your friend!”

“Patton please be gentle.” Roman said softly, kneeling to his son who looked confused then nodded. The little boy had pretty much jumped onto his father’s lap in fear. “Sorry about my-“

“This boy’s very nice isn’t he Stormcloud?” The father interrupted, speaking to his son and holding his hand. The boy was sucking his thumb instead of speaking, but slowly nodded after a minute or two. The voice made Roman smile without even realising, it was just a soft and gentle voice suited a father. Roman was cursed with a rough voice that only became smooth when he sang. “You can play with the nice boy and then you can get ice cream! I’ll be right here if you get hurt.”

After a few minutes the boy got off his father’s lap and went towards Patton, but still held his father’s hand and waved a small cat toy that was in his other hand. “Of course you can take Spider with you.” The boy then smiled wide and slowly followed Patton to the play area. Roman smiled and sat next to the father, possibly thinking about starting a conversation. But as soon as he sat the father got a laptop out and put an earphone in the side Roman had sat, with his eyes still glued on his son. He obviously didn’t want to talk.

But the kids seemed to be getting along. It was mainly Patton talking and making games with other kids and the other boy following shyly and copying. The cuteness just made Roman chuckle, which seemed to alert the father that he was sat there. “Oh, sorry I’m being impolite.” The man said, looking away from his emails to smile at Roman. “I’m Logan, my son’s Virgil.” Logan kept his eyes on Virgil with a soft smile.

“I’m Roman, kid’s Patton.” Roman smiled back. The boys carried on playing together, Virgil becoming more confident and beginning to speak to Patton quietly. And the little boy was very short as Roman predicted. “Hey, if you don’t mind me asking – how old is Virgil?”

“He’s just turned 3 a few months ago.” Logan smiled wide, bringing out his phone and taking a picture of his son laughing and smiling with other kids. “Sorry, the little guy doesn’t like playing with other kids that much. We usually just sit here and he watches them. I’ve been begging for him to get this courage for eons.” After a few more photos Logan spoke again. “How old’s Patton?”

“Around 3 and a half I think. I don’t count the months – kind of forget what month we’re in most of the time.” Roman chuckled, both men still looking ahead at their kids rather than at each other. “He’s magic with other kids. Seems to help them out their shells.”

“I have to thank you for that.” Roman finally turned his head to look at Logan’s side profile. Black hair, slightly wavy but in a quiff, thick glasses hiding blue hazel eyes, sharp cheekbones and pale skin. He certainly wasn’t bad looking, but Roman shouldn’t focus on that seeming he was newly single. Knowing his luck though Logan was probably straight and married.

Once another few minutes had past Patton and Virgil ran towards their respective parents excitedly. “Dad! Dad! Can we have ice cream together?” They said simultaneously, giggling when they said the same thing. Virgil climbed on his father’s lap and received a large cuddle. Patton did the same, as did Roman but it didn’t seem as natural for them – random cuddles for hardly a reason. Logan continued to whisper to Virgil, congratulating him for playing ‘so well’. 

“I mean we can stay.” Roman cleared his throat, causing Logan to come out of his father mode and smile.

“Delightful. Shall I pay?”

“Oh, no, I know a great ice cream parlour down the street that a family friend works at…” Roman focused on gathering the toys he bought for Patton, Patton was very easily distracted so Roman had an endless supply of colouring books and dolls to give Patton if the play area didn’t interest him. Logan tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Oh, I just thought you were new to the village, Verge and I come here every day so we know the regulars.” Logan laughed softly, everything about this man was soft and gentle when close to his son.

“Ah no…” Roman could only take a deep breath, looking down at Patton for a moment and biting his lip. “Pat? Can you go say goodbye to your friends in the play area?” Patton nodded excitedly and ran off. Logan could immediately sense the nervousness and stepped closer with a concerned look on his face. “Sorry, I just – uh – we left home yesterday and we’re living with my parents… Ex-fiancé was not a good man.”

Logan nodded, looking down at his son with a smile. Virgil seemed distracted watching the sunlight filter through the trees, sucking his hidden thumb and staying close to the adults. “Hey, it’s alright. At least our boys are good friends right?” The parents laughed quietly, watching Patton saying his goodbyes. It was a comfortable silence until Roman’s phone vibrated, showing a frantic text from his other Dad – calm, sassy and collective Remy Windsor.

RO-RO YOUR BROTHER HAS ATTACHED A BLOWTORCH TO THE HAIRDRYER WE NEED BACK-UP.

“Shit…” Logan tilted his head again. Patton ran over happily after saying goodbye but then stopped, also looking confused and holding his dad’s hand. “Sorry, my brother’s being – chaotic. I can show you where the ice cream parlour is on a map and if you just tell the manager I sent you...”

“It’s alright… Shall we meet again same time next week?” The kids’ eyes immediately glowed with that child happiness that made both fathers’ hearts skip a beat. “Play date?”

“Yeah that seems amazing! Wait…” Roman got a scrap piece of paper and wrote his number on it, handing the paper to Logan. Logan pocketed it and nodded. “We’ve gotta rush off now – see you Lo!”

Roman sprinted across the park, picking Patton up so there was no chance of slowing them down. It wasn’t until he had fully left the park that he realised that he called a guy he just met by a nickname. Lo? What was that about? It violated that man’s privacy to just immediately nickname him like he’s a child. He’s been a full-time Dad for too long.

God, he hoped this friendship would last. For the kids’ sake, they already seemed to love each other.


	3. Coffee Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I felt like giving an extra chapter. I might update this twice a week instead of once a week now as this is already pre-written.
> 
> But Logan and Roman have a coffee not-date, and slowly realise how good friends they can be rather than just mutuals through their kids.

Logan took a deep breath smelling his cocoa and toffee coffee. Smooth guitar music was playing on a radio in the coffee shop, there was a small amount of conversation from other coffee lovers, and he was alone. He was on lunch break and one of Logan’s co-workers was going to get takeaway McDonalds so offered to entertain Virgil while Logan took an hour break at a nearby Starbucks. He was glad he could trust his co-workers with anything, they were all great people, but he did always miss his little boy.

The bell at the entrance to the coffee shop rang, causing the baristas to jump into action again and finish their relaxed conversations with the customers. Customers usually came one at a time, minutes apart, allowing the workers to have a stress free day and have relaxing conversations with anyone who wanted company. Logan was not one of the people that desired that, but he liked the sentiment, nonetheless.

He looked up to see who entered, only to find it was someone he recognised. Red hoodie, dark ripped jeans, short straight auburn hair, happy smile. Virgil’s playmate’s father: Roman. When they met eyes Logan gave a smile, and Roman sat down opposite him with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Good afternoon.” Logan said, giving a soft smile and sipping his coffee again, causing his glasses to cloud up slightly. Roman also gave a smile and sipped his cinnamon coffee. He didn’t have the familiar, smiling, cheerful toddler beside him making Logan give a confused glance. “Where’s your son?”

“Being babysat by his Grandpas – well I think one of them is at work, so just the one Grandpa for now. Probably being overdosed on caffeine.” Roman smiled and chuckled a low and raspy chuckle; his eyes laid on the coffee he was stirring before glancing out of the window at the people walking by. It was unusual to see him without his little ball of energy, he seemed calmer and quieter when out of dad mode. Logan supposed it was the same the other way round, although he had spent so much time with his little Stormcloud he was beginning to lose the concept of his own independent person. “Didn’t realise how quiet the world is without my little Puffball.”

“This is definitely a place for introspection. Virgil’s being babysat too, this is my lunch break…” Logan placed his coffee down, watching the baristas and admiring the architecture of the room, wondering whether he would have become an architect if he ever went to college as that was one of his old career plans. He was happy that he went into work at 18, but sometimes his mind did wonder. There was a comfortable silence between the two fathers while they inhaled their caffeine. The two parents had only know each other for about a week, and all their meetings had been surrounded by their toddlers. This was the first time it was just the two of them. Yet, for Logan, it felt comfortable sitting opposite Roman – like he’d known him for years. There seemed to be no nervousness in their shared aura, just comfortableness like sitting in front of a fireplace in winter. After a while Logan sighed, looking at Roman again. “How… Are you finding things?” He asked, knowing there was an opportunity to talk about Roman’s life now they weren’t surrounded by kids. He was used to, and happy to, act like a therapist of sorts. “You mentioned something about your ex…”

“Yeah, yeah, just one day at a time.” Roman giggled slightly awkwardly, biting his lip in thought and taking a deep breath. “It’s… Quite difficult… Yeah…”

“Well I’m sure you’re doing well. You love your son and that’s all you need to do right now.”

Roman nodded, taking a sip of coffee and another deep breath. He gave a small smile and then met eyes with Logan again, his hazel eyes expanding as an idea popped into his head. “Can I complain about my ex? I don’t want to upset you or waste your ti…”

“Of course you can, I’m here to listen.” Logan smiled wide, leaning closer subconsciously just to seem more approachable. Roman also did the same and fiddled with a pain-au-chocolat he bought, expanding the silence for a minute or two as he thought and the relaxed fireplace aura continued.

“Um… Well, he was a lawyer, and I was a waiter in a restaurant in the city. I didn’t work a lot though, only like an hour or two every other day - I stayed home to take care of Pat. He wasn’t a father, in short. He ignored Patton constantly. I mean, Puffball’s first steps were towards him and his response was – ‘ah, good’ – I mean who does that?” The teaspoon hit Roman’s cup with a chime, emotions overtaking him but quickly fading. He let out a breath and looked outside the shop again, bottling his anger probably until he was in a more private area. 

It was certainly unfortunate, Logan remembered when Virgil took his first steps. He remembered the moment clearly, Virgil was almost a year old when it finally happened. Logan nonchalantly placed his infant son on the floor, surrounded by different baby toys and teething activities to entertain him for a few minutes. He was on the phone doing work calls and kept his eyes on his son before forcing himself to close his eyes to recite a phone number of a certain therapist to the particular patient. He remained on the call until he felt a soft tap on his knee, then a loud mumble and giggle before he realised his son had appeared just beside his father’s foot, therefore the only conclusion was that he walked closer. Logan ended the call as soon as possible and picked up his son, giving him a large cuddle and a strawberry milkshake treat with a lot of praise. 

Such a null reaction to such a cute moment was psychopathic, although that was a very extreme reaction. “He never took time off for Patton, told me I could deal with it on my own, so after a while - and a lot of arguments - I decided I was going to. And now I’m here…”

“It’s a shame Patton and Virgil aren’t a little older, they’d see you as a superhero for what you did.” Logan continued the earnest eye contact until Roman gathered the confidence to look at his friend again. Once the sentence was processed Roman smiled shyly and nodded in agreement. The pair chatted, Roman talking about his past relationship and processing his feelings healthily and Logan was actively listening and giving reassurance. It felt really nice for Roman to let it all go, venting to a friend without fear of worrying his small child. The two men eventually finished their impromptu therapy session, making a comfortable silence again and landing their eyes to the wide windows and door into the café.

Logan’s eyes widened watching the person walk through, a business woman with her infant child and a golden Labrador. He then nodded to himself and looked away, holding his breath. The Labrador was panting, wagging its tail and looking at everyone with large doe brown eyes. When the woman got her coffee she walked to find a seat, focusing on the pushchair that held her baby. The dog greeted the other customers – getting plenty of pats and ‘good boys’. When it approached Roman and Logan it received a pat from Roman and a soft smile from Logan. Roman raised an eyebrow and looked over, leaning forward slightly and whispering to his glasses-wearing friend. “Are you alright Logan?”

“I - ach - Sorry…” Logan whispered back, a sneeze interrupting what he was saying as his eyes started to water. Roman tried to calculate if his friend was scared or was having some kind of reaction to something. “Ach… I’m allergic to fur – ach…”

Roman immediately jumped into dad action. Patton had severe hay-fever so he knew what to do in a situation of an allergic reaction quite well. “How severe are your reactions? Do you have an epi-pen? I have tissues.” Roman grabbed a pack on tissues from his pocket, handing it to Logan but he paused before grabbing them. 

“Is that the hand you pet the – ach - dog with? I get severe rashes at contact after someone pet a… ach…” Roman shook his head which allowed Logan to take them and blow his nose. “And no I don’t need an epi-pen… ach… It fades in a few minutes.”

“Trust me, if I knew you were allergic I wouldn’t have pet that pup Logan. I’m so sorry.” Roman smiled, stuffing the hand that touched the fluffy sneezing storm into his pocket so he wouldn’t hurt his friend. “I suppose that’s why you adopted a baby rather than a pet?” He tried to laugh, watching Logan start to pack away the things he had out into a small bag.

“It’s perfectly fine, I’m used to these reactions…” Logan’s eyes were still watery but the sneezing had died down. “I should get back to work. See you Ro…” Logan didn’t finish Roman’s name, not paying attention to it until he paused and watched Roman for a reaction.

“Yeah, see you Lo. We should do this again.” And at that Logan left back to work, feeling utterly relaxed and happy with his new friend. A small excitement filled Logan at the thought of having coffee with Roman again without the kids.


	4. Universe Therapies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan has his typical day of work with his son by his side, but also seems to attract more attention from his boss than usual once it is said Virgil has a play date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter seems really short - but I decided I'm going to post on Sundays as well as Wednesdays to get this published quicker. Next chapter is quite long and very cute!

“Thank you for calling Universe Therapies, goodbye.” Logan said into the phone before the person at the other side of the call hang up. The sound of classical music rung in his ears as he faced his office computer. Virgil was beside him sitting on the desk playing a farm animals game, the whisper of animal noises echoing between the two on the desk. Logan was in work, he worked as a receptionist for a therapy company. The company did all different types of therapy: play therapy, family therapy, mental health therapy, marriage counselling, the whole lot. It was a job Logan was passionate about – especially being a young, gay, single father.

“Daddy?” Virgil squeaked, cuddling his cat teddy Spider (toddlers naming things made no logical sense – but it was endearing). Logan turned his head, a wide smile arriving on his face squishing his son’s cheek. Virgil reached out his arms once Logan leaned closer. “Cuddle please Daddy.”

Logan gave his son a kiss on the forehead and placed the toddler on his lap, clicking through his work emails. His main responsibility at work was organising all the requests for therapies and fitting them in the therapists’ work hours and assigning therapists to different patients. To some it might be a boring job, but for Logan it wasn’t, especially with his son on his lap being as cute as he was. Virgil rested his head on his father’s chest, cuddling in most likely for a nap. Other workers for the company watched the pair, a few smiling wide at the cuteness. 

Virgil was a celebrity in the offices with both Logan’s colleagues and the patients requiring therapy. The co-workers knew Virgil was going to be coming to work as soon as the adoption papers were signed when Virgil was a newborn. Logan took a few days paternity leave to work from home but by the time Virgil was a month and a half old Logan was back working in the office. He giggled to himself remembering having to let baby Virgil nap in a portable cot on the floor behind his desk and the amount of times older co-workers helped Logan change dirty nappies or stop the crying when Logan couldn’t figure out what Virgil wanted. Now after 3 years Logan considered himself a Virgil expert, the pair had spent almost every hour of every day together.

“Kiddo?” Logan whispered, not wanting to wake up Virgil if he was napping. Virgil moved his head and smiled at his father sleepily. “You want your lullabies?” Virgil nodded, opening a nearby drawer that held the smallest pair of purple headphones Logan could find. After the headphones were on Logan turned on his mobile phone, turning on Spotify and playing ‘Stormy’s lullabies’ playlist. Sometimes Logan wished he could sing the lullabies but he never learnt to sing nor was very good at remembering lyrics, so Spotify was the only option. Virgil closed his eyes and cuddled in again, allowing one last kiss on the forehead and a reinforcing phrase. “Who’s my favourite boy? You are!”

After almost an hour a ding disturbed Virgil’s sleep, causing him to mumble annoyed. Logan stroked his son’s hair and checked his phone, it would only be someone he knew as Logan’s work landline stayed at the offices. And it was indeed someone he knew, the man he’d met at the park several times before and the father of Virgil’s best friend – Roman Windsor. It was a quick text saying Patton was missing his old home and asking about it – so a play date was in order. Logan of course agreed to the play date, he loved watching Virgil gain confidence around other kids after years of being too scared in new places and situations.

Logan smiled at his phone with an arm around his son. He felt so proud of his little boy, over the weeks he had known Patton he had become more confident just in general. He was almost always happy to be around strangers, as long as Logan was beside him, and even started to have small conversation with anyone that came to Logan’s desk at work. He was watching his little boy grow up yet wanted to watch Virgil mid nap-time forever and ever. He wasn’t ready for Virgil to become grown up just yet.

“How’s my favourite little cowo- oh is he asleep Logie?” Logan’s boss, Emile – who was the head of Universe Therapies, whispered as he came to the desk. Logan nodded and stroked the slick black hair of the three year old, making his boss hold a hand to his heart and make some grunt to admire the cuteness.

“It’s just a nap. Do 3 year olds still nap?”

“Yes they do, stop worrying.” The boss giggled while placing a few chocolates on Logan’s desk near where Virgil usually sat. This boss quickly became the person Logan asked questions about child development to if he had any. The boss was several decades older than Logan and had a grandchild himself that he often compared to Virgil as he was growing. “I mean my grandson isn’t as calm as your Virgil when napping. One minute he’s running about happily playing and talking to everybody and the next he’s passed out on the sofa for 2 hours… Oh these chocolates are for the little guy when he wakes up.”

“Thank you, I’m sure he’ll love them.” Logan smiled, getting a chocolate for himself and eating it before turning back to his emails. The boss straightened his baby pink bow, admiring the cute toddler.

“What’s your plan with him this evening? I assume lots of cuddles and games.” The boss smiled, checking if Virgil was any closer to waking up. The boss, Mr E as Virgil called him, was a favourite for cuddles. His knitted beige cardigan was made from the softest material on Earth and he had endless sweets in his office. Mr E was the closest to a grandparent Virgil had.

“Well actually V-V has a play date. He’s very excited.”

“Is it a play… date?” Emile laughed, pointing at Virgil for ‘play’ and Logan for ‘date’. Logan gave a small smile and shook his head. 

“There’s no romance involved. Virgil just met a friend at the park and is meeting them again.” A small squeak came from just below Logan’s head, along with some movement, signifying Virgil was awake. The little boy only napped for an hour at a time. “Morning Stormy. Mr E got you chocolates…” Logan whispered, placing the headphones back in his desk drawer and giving his son a KitKat. Virgil wasn’t completely awake yet, he was still cuddling into his father and just holding the KitKat instead of trying to unwrap it and eat it.

“I know you don’t like to think about romance Logie but…” Emile paused what he was saying and looked to the side in thought. “Don’t be scared of romantic love. There is a person out there for you, and if you find the wrong person at first at least you have free therapy. Just have a go at love.”

And after that, Logan’s boss walked away. Logan knew he meant well, but all the advice he gave sounded like it was quoted directly from a Disney character. It helped when Virgil was upset, at his age the world was like Disney – nothing bad happening and magic around every corner that their small minds couldn’t explain. The world wasn’t a Disney movie for Logan, but he had his complete family now he had his son and he wasn’t ready for that to change. That was all the love he needed, he didn’t need some fairytale prince to save him from that life.


	5. Play-Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Roman organise the kids to have a sleepover, and open up themselves a little more during late night talks. Crofters is included.
> 
> TW - There's a mention of homophobic parents - 4th paragraph from the bottom starting with "no".
> 
> Also, there's another mention of Virgil being darker skinned - Just tell me if I phrase anything incorrectly and I'll correct it

Unfortunately Logan had a lot of work to do so stayed late, meaning it reached 6:30pm when Logan and Virgil could make time for a play date. It was close to the boys’ bedtime but Patton had not stopped asking about Roman’s ex – so the play date definitely couldn’t be cancelled. Logan offered to babysit, Roman seemed obviously quite shaken up and stressed but Roman said he could manage taking Patton to bed.

“Vergie has a second mattress under his bed that I can bring out, you can relax at home and take a breath.” Logan said to Roman, fiddling his house keys and watching Patton and Virgil talk to each other excitedly as Virgil told his friend about all his toys. Logan spoilt his son with too many toys to count.

“Your wife wouldn’t mind would she?” Logan heard Roman’s voice beside him whisper, making Logan raise an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m not that kind of person.”

Roman seemed shocked but tried to hide it by watching the kids looking through the windows. Logan gave him a soft smile, opening the door and watching the three year olds run through straight to Virgil’s dolls. “Well, your husband – or fiancé – or boyfriend – would they mind?”

Logan laughed softly. “I’m not that kind of person either.”

“Non-binary partner?”

“It’s just me and Virgil here.” Logan said harshly, maybe a little too harshly as Roman quietly nodded. The two fathers walked into the kitchen as Logan cooked dinner. “Sorry, ah, I just get lots of questions about it. I adopted Virgil on my own and I hate when people assume one person isn’t enough.”

“Of course…” Roman finally said after a few minutes, keeping his eyes on his son through the archway separating the living room and kitchen. It was a hard day today. Roman took Patton to a toddler play group to get him out the house (Remus was causing chaos) and made a craft for Daddy Janus when the pair returned from their ‘holiday’. He knew he should tell his kid the truth but he just couldn’t – it would hurt his son and Roman rarely confronted the reality himself. There were several times Roman was sitting alone at night, watching a Disney movie and reminding himself of snarky comments his ex-fiancé would make at certain scenes. He’d then stare at his phone screen, sometimes at his text history, his eyes highlighting the name ‘Janus’. He wasn’t sure if Janus had blocked his number or deleted his contact or just didn’t care anymore, but Janus hadn’t even texted or called since their midnight argument just before Roman left.

Roman was in the nightmare realm of reality until he felt a hand on his shoulder. “I know things are difficult. Would you rather stay the night?” He heard Logan say softly, and slowly he finally smiled and nodded. Logan smiled softly in response and turned back to what he was cooking. “Spaghetti with tomato sauce good enough for you?”

Roman couldn’t help but smile wide. The smell of tomato began invading through the room and it smelt delicious, immediately identifying Logan as the best cook he’d ever seen. “Pat and I love pasta – it’s our second favourite food.”

“What’s your first then?” Logan said with a small smile, throwing in herbs that Roman didn’t know existed and had posh Italian names like ‘oregano’ and ‘thyme’. 

“Well, Pat’s is probably cookies. Mine’s Crofters jam.”

Logan paused as if Roman had said something heavily blasphemous. He blinked twice, keeping his eyes on Roman and abandoning the meal he was cooking for a minute. He then opened a cabinet close to the window and grabbed something. Roman didn’t realise what he grabbed until he saw the label.

“You like Crofters jam too?”

“I love it.” Logan laughed, placing the jam back in the cabinet. “You’re staying for breakfast, aren’t you?”

Roman was about to nod before he heard little footsteps beside him. Patton and Virgil ran together happily, Virgil ran to his father and held his hand. The amount of love in the little toddler’s eyes made Roman smile. Logan was enough for Virgil, why wasn’t he enough for Patton? The voice inside him echoed causing Roman to sigh and smile at his small son. 

“Daddy can I show Virgil my doggy pyjamas? Please?” Patton giggled, his wide baby blue eyes with so much happiness and hope. He knew that happiness was honest, but it was temporary. At the back of the toddler’s mind would always be his other dad, which Virgil didn’t have to deal with, and it was Roman’s fault. Hopefully it wouldn’t scar for too long. Roman picked his son up and gave him a kiss on the forehead and a nod. Roman excused the pair and went into a nearby bathroom to dress his son in the dog themed pyjamas he packed.

After dinner the parents prepared their sons for bedtime. Both were very excited, very loudly planning to stay up all night and eat sweets and tell each other scary stories. Logan listened intently, joking with them and making funny faces to keep them focused on a bedtime routine. He didn’t seem to need help even though the amount of children he was entertaining doubled. He was such a good father.

Patton ran into Virgil’s bedroom happily. “We’ll have fun! I love stories! Can we have cookies? Please Da…” Patton stopped in his tracks, all the joy taking out of him looking at the curtains – curtains with spider design. Patton immediately ran to his father and grabbed onto him. “Daddy! There are mean creepy crawly death dealers!” Patton screamed, with a lot of squealing and tears. Logan looked over mid bedtime cuddles. Roman smiled at him and whispered in Patton’s ear.

“I’ll save you my little prince.” Patton nodded, sucking his thumb and cuddling into his father’s chest. “Hey, Logan, d’you have butterknives?”

“Um… Yes…” Logan slowly stood and walked out of the room, still holding Virgil in his arms without a struggle. Virgil was probably already asleep. He returned a few minutes later with a butterknife and handed it to Roman, which make Patton perk up and smile slightly. 

“Time to fight!” Roman cheered, holding the butterknife up to the sky making Patton giggle. Logan smiled and watched from Virgil’s bed, the noise causing Virgil to wake and also look over. He then approached the curtains and hit them back and forth frantically, cheering and threatening the ‘creepy death dealers’ with death. The small performance even made Logan smile. “They’re defeated! And all thanks to Prince Pattoncake and Knight Dad!”

Patton gave a quiet giggle as he was placed into bed. Roman hummed quietly as he tucked his son into bed, his voice slowly becoming clearer and melodic as a sweet lullaby escaped his lips. Patton held a nearby teddy close, a wide smile on his face watching his father and fighting sleep. Virgil also lay on his side holding Spider close to his lips, admiring Roman’s voice and graceful movements like he’d never seen such a performance. Which he hadn’t - Logan wasn’t a singer nor the best at flowy, theatrical movements. Virgil only heard singing via songs on Spotify or children’s cartoons, watching Roman must be like he was in a Disney movie. Logan stroked his son’s hair and stayed silent, listening to the lullaby being sang and identifying it as one of Virgil’s favourites. Sleep overtook both toddlers in a few minutes – making bedtime one of the easiest he’d ever had as usually Virgil demanded bedtime stories and used bedtime as question time rather than a time to sleep.

After checking both boys were definitely asleep, the dads walked out in unison and Logan was handed his butterknife back. Roman kept the soft smile he held while singing and – even though it might have been as illusion – his steps still seemed so graceful.

“Well, that was quite a performance Roman. You’re a good father.” Logan smiled, placing the butterknife in his pocket for now.

“Hey, you’re better. It’s amazing how well you do on your own.”

Logan nodded, walking down the stairs and cleaning from the dinner the four shared. Roman cleaned up the toys that the kids left on the floor, feeling awkward. Even though he lived with his parents and brother he never felt such a presence of another person beside him. The clank of plates grounded him in the situation that he had just taken his son to bed and there was a friend, not a family member, beside him to talk to. He hadn’t had that since Janus.

“You can turn the television on.” Logan shouted from the kitchen, smiling at his friend. Roman immediately turned on the TV to find which Disney movie was shown. He chose Brave and sat on the sofa. Logan soon appeared with a bowl of popcorn. “This is the good thing about toddlers, early bedtime.” Logan laughed, eating a few puffs of popcorn and watching the TV. Roman relaxed, moving his shoulders and leaning back. “And about the… single Dad thing… you learn what to do. The worry fades away in a while.”

“If you don’t mind me asking - why is it just you and Virgil?” Roman asked, only looking at his friend through the corner of his eye. He could spot Logan’s uncomfortableness, and he took a deep breath. Roman was about to backtrack until he answered.

“I adopted him. I wanted a family so I got one, a new-born abandoned at the hospital.” Logan said simply, also leaning back and crossing his hands on his lap. He looked at his nails for a moment with a small smile. Roman was surprised, he thought Virgil and Logan looked alike. They both had black hair and large eyes in comparison to the rest of their face. Virgil was just darker and smaller, which Roman assumed was from the other biological parent. “I didn’t feel the need for a boyfriend after Virgil entered my life, so it’s just us two.”

“Have you ever had a boyfriend?” Roman whispered, taking some popcorn from the bowl and glancing another look at Logan – in thought as if recounting a long forgotten memory. Eventually he bit his lip and spoke.

“No. My parents didn’t exactly approve of my ‘choice’.” Roman understood that fear. He never had that worry growing up with two dads, but that didn’t mean he was immune to it. When he was in college he always felt his anxiety spike holding Janus’ hand or when Janus had a hand on his knee while they watched a movie in the cinema. In this moment he silenced, not expecting Logan to continue speaking. “They threw me out as soon as I turned 18. I worked my butt off to get an income and a place of my own. Romance seemed like a distraction, but as soon as I laid my eyes on Virgil I promised him I’d never treat him as my parents treated me.”

“And you’re doing a good job.” Roman smiled. Logan looked extremely stressed, holding in his emotions and stuffing his mouth with popcorn. Logan’s hand still lay on his leg, and Roman looked at it in thought before placing his own hand on top of it. “Do you mind?”

“I don’t…” Logan said slowly, also looking at the hand that was now hidden under his friend’s hand. The stress disappeared from his face at the contact. “Sorry, I guess I don’t vent about my past enough.” Logan laughed, ending the conversation by looking at the television. It was silent until he spoke again, but only for a second. “I suppose I learnt quite young that love is conditional, such knowledge only comes to a few when they reach adulthood.”

Roman didn’t feel like exploring that topic. He knew that the love he felt for Janus was conditional, it didn’t last forever and was quickly broken. However he was a hopeless romantic so didn’t want to say all love was like his love for Janus. He loved his son more than anything that was sure, and that was the only love he felt comfortable thinking about in that moment. Instead the two men watched TV until late, and Roman slept on the sofa and made Crofters on toast for Logan and the kids in the morning. It was a nice day, a nice day of friendship.


	6. The Other Daddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil falls while playing and Roman saves him. This results in Virgil begging his father to find another Dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI for the Americans - plasters are the same as band-aids. My American roommate looks at me like an alien when I ask him for some plasters after I fall down the stairs.

“So yeah… The little guy took it better than expected.” Roman said as he sipped his takeaway coffee, sitting next to his friend Logan and watching their kids play, telling Logan about when he explained to Patton they ‘weren’t going to see the other Daddy anymore’. Roman counted himself lucky that he had his fathers and brother to help for the few minutes Patton was upset, that’s what family was for. 

“You can do it, Kylo Friend!” Patton shouted faintly one of his adorable nicknames for Virgil, he was sat on top of a climbing frame and was persuading Virgil to climb up and sit next to him, encouraging him step by step. Roman loved watching their little friendship grow, imagining them battling high school side-by-side with the power of friendship and maybe eventually organising play dates with their kids if they had any. Maybe they would even date – although Roman didn’t like the idea of pushing his son into a particular sexuality. 

He went out of his imagination to continue the conversation with Logan. “I took Pat to Banana Split – so he now has friends in similar situations. It went well.”

“I suppose that’s why it’s good you got out when you did. He’s young enough for it to not affect him too harshly.” Logan responded, facing his laptop as he did work, but still caring to listen to his friend. “I suppose now is actually getting on with your life? New chapter?”

Roman nodded slowly, thinking everything through. He didn’t want to work as a waiter again particularly, or work in retail as he did when he was a teenager. He wanted the kind of job people his age had, all his co-workers before were teenagers or college age. Unfortunately, he majored in Musical Theatre in college so wasn’t qualified for much. “I don’t know… I want a different job – like a boring office job or something.” Roman mumbled, placing his gaze over the emails Logan was answering with text too small to read. 

“I can always get a word in at the place I work.” Logan’s smile made Roman smile too. That would be amazing, since Logan was allowed to bring Virgil to work so would Roman be allowed to bring Patton. He could focus his money fully on becoming independent from his parents rather than daycare and babysitters, although he was sure his dads would babysit Patton for free. “I work at…” Logan’s phone began to ring before he finished his sentence causing him to scowl. “Sorry I have to get this call.” And with that Logan stood and stepped away from the bench slightly, focused on his discussion and turning away from the play area unknowingly. Roman kept his eyes on the boys playing.

Virgil climbed on a ladder, almost reaching where his friend Patton sat. The two kids were giggling about whatever toddlers find funny and Patton was giving words of encouragement if Virgil got anxious. “Virgil’s only using one hand.” Roman’s dad voice said inside of him before Roman even processed the danger himself. Only one hand of Virgil’s was holding onto the ladder while the other held his toy Spider that the toddler carried everywhere. Roman revved himself to prepare to stand, unsure of whether to interfere with their playtime or wait until Logan spotted the danger too. But soon Virgil’s giggling stopped harshly as he lost his footing on the ladder and fell. It was only a few steps down to the floor but the fall still gave the toddler a fright. Virgil began crying and going into a small ball to protect himself, Patton walking to his side. Logan was still distracted by his work call to not see his son.

“Virgil – it’s OK!” Roman ran into the play area, kneeling opposite Virgil and smiling at him. He got a few plasters out of his pocket. “Do you have a boo-boo?” Surprisingly Virgil shook his head, still crying but holding his hands out towards Roman. Usually Virgil stayed by his father or Patton, he’d not even done as much as make eye contact with Roman nor stand anywhere close. Now he was reaching out as if he wanted to be held – and honestly it was a cute sight. Patton only did grabby hands when he was sleepy, and even then it was rarely.

Roman picked the toddler up slowly, feeling as though Virgil was a China doll that could be easily broken. He was so small. The small fists grabbed onto his t-shirt as Patton also came beside his father’s side, Virgil’s head turning to the side to lean against Roman’s chest to get himself comfortable. “I’m sorry Virgil! I’ll hold Spider next time!” Patton cheered, looking up at Virgil with a wide smile. Virgil nodded but seemed more preoccupied leaning into Roman. Roman took the kids out of the play area just as Logan finished the call.

“Hm? Oh Vergie! What happened buddy?” Logan walked over and took his son quickly, focusing now completely on the little boy and trying to cheer him up.

“I fell off that.” Virgil whispered, pointing to the climbing frame before starting to suck his thumb but still looking at Roman. Roman continued his concerned look and ruffled Virgil’s hair as he stepped closer. Logan had never seen Roman up so close, he had such soft features in comparison to Logan’s – round face with slightly red rosy cheeks, hazel eyes that always seemed to shine. He looked exactly like a father should be, just soft and gentle with every movement. “Can we please go home Daddy?” Logan smiled softly and cuddled his son.

“Sure kiddo. We’ll play with Patton next week!” And with the final goodbyes, Logan walked home still carrying his little toddler. He knew that Virgil wouldn’t mind playing at home, and Logan had finished all his work so he was happy to play hide-and-seek or do colouring until dinner.

*****

It was 7pm and Logan placed Virgil in his small Tim Burton bed, kissing his forehead and ruffling his hair. “Night night V-V…” He whispered, bringing the blankets up to Virgil’s shoulders and turning on the purple cat nightlight. “You want one of the stories read to you?”

“Daddy?” 

The cute brown eyes glowed in the dark, the shimmer on them showing the little boy’s innocence. Logan smiled and sat on the end of the bed, still stroking his son’s hair. “Yes favourite child?”

“When can I get another daddy?”

Logan paused for a moment. Virgil had never asked that before, it was strange. He just always assumed Virgil was happy with just his one dad. He had mentioned several times to his toddler that he was gay. It was important Virgil learnt that some people had two mommies, some had a mommy and a daddy, some had two daddies, some had only one mommy, some had one or two non-binary parents and some – like Virgil himself – had one daddy. “Well… Do you want another daddy?” Virgil nodded. “Why? I already have a million daddies’ love for you right here.” He stretched out his hands as far as it would go and gave his son a hug, receiving a giggle.

“But I’m lonely. I want someone else to play with all the time!” Virgil chirped again after the giggle. Again that wasn’t something Virgil would have said a few months ago, he in fact preferred solitude. It felt as though Logan was talking to an entirely different kid. Logan lay next to his son in the small bed, his legs hanging off the end and reaching the wall as he put an arm around the toddler and smiled at him.

“Hm… Who would you like your other daddy to be?” Logan laughed, giving his son a squish of his cheek and kissing his forehead again. Virgil looked up at him with a wide smile and love in his eyes, all the love Logan needed in his life that he hoped would never fade.

“Patton’s daddy of course!” He almost screamed, looking really proud of himself. Roman was the only friend he had that wasn’t a work colleague so he could understand how the three year old could come to the conclusion that the pair would fall in love and live happily ever after. “He’s fun and caring and just like you!”

Logan sighed, knowing part of this want for another daddy and that daddy being Roman was due to the ‘incident’ earlier in the day. He felt bad as soon as that happened, it was the first time in a while he had taken his eyes off his son while playing to focus on his work. He just felt like Virgil was safe in there – there weren’t any dodgy people around, he was focused on playing with Patton, and Roman was there to watch. When Roman actually ran in and saved Virgil from being upset Logan was grateful but also felt like a bad father. He shouldn’t need help from anyone regarding his son, Virgil was his child – and only his.

“Patton said family’s the most important thing in the world! But I don’t have a family… only a dad…” Virgil mumbled again, slowly getting more sleepy as his head rested on Logan’s chest. Logan held him close. “I want grandparents, and another dad, and a brother or a sister… Please can you get that Daddy?”

“I can’t kiddo… There are some things I can’t create.” Logan said sadly and quietly, watching sleep slowly overtake his son and the movement within his son’s body to still. Soon little snores escaped him making Logan finally smile again. He hated seeing his son begging for something, but he couldn’t solve the issue. He just hadn’t fallen in love, and he hadn’t heard anything about his parents or extended family for over 10 years due to his sexuality. There was just no way to give Virgil the family he wanted.


	7. Dream vs Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan has a weird feelings-y dream. It changes the way he feels about his father friend.
> 
> \-----------
> 
> Yes, the last chapter was a little sad but hopefully this one is cuter!

Logan didn’t dream that often, it wasn’t logical. He already had his dream world anyway with his amazing little son and good job. This night was different though – and scary.

In this dream Logan got up and dressed like usual, making him not think he was in a dream just yet. He was in front of the sink, brushing his teeth with his eyes on his hand rather than the mirror. Inside he was thinking about getting Virgil up, what he’d wear, what toys to bring to work, until he felt arms around his stomach and a kiss on the cheek. “Good mooorning…” The sing-song voice laughed, still not visible. Real-life Logan was confused and scared at that small intimacy – but dream Logan smiled.

“Good morning honey, are the kids up?” Kids? What kids? He only had one… And then he recognised the voice by another mumble. Roman Windsor.

“Of course darling, now don’t take too long getting ready.” Roman mumbled, sounding half asleep himself. The low groggy voice made Logan feel a feeling – a feeling he hadn’t had since high school when he had to repress it. That’s when he saw him, Logan’s head was turned to see Roman’s face close up. Light freckles, beautiful eyes, a soft smile – all made Logan’s weird old feeling stronger.

Then they kissed. There were only two words Logan could think of: soft and warm. The lips were soft, slightly chapped, and fit perfectly. They were also warm, making the feeling that started in Logan’s stomach seem to rise and flow through his veins – desiring more. It all seemed to add up together when Roman stepped back. It was love.

But dream love wasn’t real love right? Nothing made sense in dreams. Virgil’s bedroom was empty so Logan went downstairs, doing his tie and stepping on the steps rhythmically. The TV was on with Virgil sat cross-legged in front of it. Virgil never liked sitting on the sofa like a normal human – much rather on Logan’s lap or the floor. “Hey kiddo!” Logan cheered, resulting in a wave from his son before he turned back to the TV. “How are y-“

“Toast!” A shout interrupted Logan speaking to his son as Roman appeared again, dressed simply in a t-shirt and joggers, holding four small plates covered in toast and red jam. “Favourite breakfast for my favourite boyfriend.”

“Thank you…” Logan could only process things slowly. First, his friend was very attractive – second, his friend was his boyfriend in this dream – third, there were thoughts in his head surrounding whether this whole scenario would work in real life. The thoughts overtook him until he felt the reassurance of the soft lips again as his body dipped, a dramatic romantic pose performed by Roman himself.

“Ew Dads get a room!” Another voice cheered as Logan was placed back on his feet, followed by two little giggles. Patton sat next to Virgil and the two little eyes looked up at the pair of parents while Logan’s vision swayed and he left the dream world, comfy in Roman’s arms.

*****

“Daddy? Can I ask Mr E for more sweets?” Virgil chirped as he sat on the desk next to his dad, holding Spider against his lips. The adorable sight made Logan feel as though he had to nod, even though it was almost time for lunch and Virgil wouldn’t have the sense to save the sweets for dessert. Virgil gave a wide smile at the nod as Logan held Virgil under the arms to get him on the floor.

“Remember the rule?” Logan said gently, watching his son’s legs wind up for action like a cartoon. The excitement in his little face made the father giggle.

“Go knock-knock and if Mr E’s busy – don’t disturb!” Virgil cheered, gaining lots of praise and a cuddle before he ran off around the corner. Logan turned back to his work, checking his emails. He knew Virgil knew the way to his boss’ office and would be back as soon as possible. Before Virgil’s confidence boost that’s all he’d do, even when Logan’s co-workers wanted to chat to him and get some of his infectious cuteness. 

“Virgil! My dark strange friend!” A voice screamed. Logan knew it was Patton’s voice – the kids had weird nicknames for each other, he was surprised how imaginative little children were. But why was Patton here? Was Roman here? Did Roman come to Universe Therapies to see him or was he just a patient?

After taking a deep breath Logan made his way to his boss’ office, hoping the two toddlers weren’t disturbing other people’s work. He followed the happy giggling to Mr Emile’s door, where Patton was holding Virgil in a hug, lifting him off the floor as he ragdolled. Logan’s boss’ door was open and his boss was visible, talking to none other than Roman Windsor.

“Sorry to disturb your meeting Emile.” Logan mumbled, holding Virgil’s hand and tugging him away from Patton. Patton squeaked a complaint making Emile and Roman laugh. He was about to step back before Emile made eye contact and stepped forward.

“Logan! This is the employee of the month I was telling you about Ro-Ro – Logan this is my son and grandson! I’ve told Logan here a lot about you two…” Emile cheered while being tackled by Patton. The grandfather laughed and picked the 3 year old up for cuddles.

“We’ve met.” Roman said, smirking and walking over. Logan’s heart stopped. How did he not realise how charismatic Roman’s actions were? He was dressed like a model too – a large brown coat with a red knitted jumper, dark blue jeans and black beanie to suit the emerging winter weather. “The kids met at the park around 3 months ago, and since then there’s been a lot of play dates.” Both Logan and Roman laughed, remembering all the silly things their toddlers had done together. Movie marathons to the late time of 8:30pm, dress up, Jenga towers and board games. The two toddlers were definitely best friends, and therefore so were their parents.

“Oh goodie! I wanted to introduce you two for so long! Do the boys want sweets?” Emile smiled looking at the two toddlers in front of him, which made both boys nod happily. Roman was about to walk into the small office the five were stood in front of but was stopped by his father. “I’ll take care of both of them kiddo. You two can talk for a while!” Emile held both boys, one with each arm like he’d had lot of prior practice. He then gave his son a wink and walked into his office shutting the door behind him.

Roman chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck. “I didn’t know you worked here – thought you’d be an accountant in the city or something.”

“I’m just a receptionist… I didn’t know you were Emile’s son.” Logan smiled softly, battling the nervousness and thoughts about his dream last night and how much he was wondering how accurate the dream was. “I guess it makes sense – you’re both sucked straight out of a Disney movie. It’s… nice.” And Roman was a Disney Prince. Soft, symmetrical features, cartoonish disposition – overall he was perfect.

Logan knew he had fallen, and he had fallen hard.

Another one of Roman’s nervous laughter interrupted Logan’s busying thoughts about bringing Roman closer. “At least I know where to find you now – uh – the boys have a play date tomorrow don’t they?”

“Yes, at McDonalds, noon until 2pm…” It felt as though the pair could only formulate simple sentences, Logan knew why he wasn’t thinking – this time Roman was a mystery. In order to try to help his situation Logan cleared his throat. “I should get back to work.” Roman nodded as a response, turning towards Emile’s office door while Logan slithered away back to his desk, knowing Virgil would be returned soon.

Roman walked into his father’s office almost out of breath. He had not expected to see Logan today, let alone in the suit and tie combo that made Roman weak at the knees. When he was safe in the small office two pairs of little eyes looked over sucking lollipops, causing Roman to smile. “I’ll take Virgil back to Logan once he’s finished his lollipop Dad.” Roman smiled sitting between the small boys.

“Just don’t have a gay panic kiddo.” Emile chirped, and Roman immediately regretted telling his father about the crush on one of Patton’s friend’s single father.


	8. The New Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW - Mention of religion and homophobia, the reason Logan's given up on love
> 
> Roman and Logan go to the coffee shop together again, and Roman accidentally formulates a lie that he's so not thinking about dating Logan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God I still can't believe this is almost over! I absolutely love this AU so might write more Logince in the future (if I get ideas).
> 
> And yes Gavin and Leo are Thomas' friend and the child he often has in his videos and sketches.

Roman walked into the coffee shop, adjusting his beanie against the autumn winds. He loved September, it wasn’t cold but the weather was getting colder; the leaves weren’t dead but they were becoming a soft orange, the world looked magical. He ordered a warm cappuccino, admiring the steam ascended from it. After looking around for a few minutes he spotted the reason he came in the coffee shop (apart from the good coffee), his friend Logan was sat in a corner booth with a good book.

“Good morning.” Roman yawned as he walked over and sat at the opposite end of the booth from his friend. Logan gave a small smile, finished the page he was reading, placed the bookmark in and stuffing the book back in his massager bag. “Where have you put Virgil?”

“Emile said he’d babysit.” Logan responded, also taking a sip of the coffee he had bought earlier.

“Oh shit.” Roman laughed, taking a sip of his coffee. “Emile’s babysitting Patton too – it will be chaos.” The two laughed a little, imagining what level of paint, flour and/or sand the toddlers were covered in now. And Roman knew that Remus was probably encouraging the madness from the side-lines.

After the laughter there was a comfortable hum of silence. Logan and Roman had met alone in the coffee shop for a while now, once a fortnight since they first encountered each other in the coffee shop in June. It was just nice to sit together without the kids sometimes. They could talk about things they didn’t want their kids to hear – Logan’s religious family he was estranged to, Roman’s ex and custody battles, even stupid things like taxes. They also discussed future play dates and sleepovers including activities to entertain the kids with.

That being said, Roman didn’t mind sitting opposite Logan and just looking at him. He was very attractive and the happiness in his face when talking about his favourite TV shows or Virgil was irreplaceable. Unfortunately, being boyfriends wasn’t an option. Logan was firmly against romantic love.

*****

Roman remembered when the pair had met in August. They were chatting about nothing Roman could remember, possibly a documentary Logan had recently watched, but slowly theism came into the conversation.

“I mean I personally think it makes no logical sense.” Logan mumbled as he stirred his coffee, not looking at Roman just yet. “There are so many religious paradoxes – let alone what it does to people.”

“I think my ex mentioned this philosopher – called Jung or something - that said religion helps people be kinder.” Roman said with another sip. He almost laughed watching Logan raise an eyebrow with a judgemental glance. Janus did tell Roman a lot of philosophies about being a good person even though he wasn’t that great a person himself. “But yeah, homophobia really is shit.”

Logan gave a small smile, thinking about something and sipping his coffee again. The small silence allowed Roman to relax and admire the sun shining outside the shop and families preparing for a day out in the many parks and swimming pools in the village area during the kids’ summer holidays. “You know… I’m grateful for my family’s stupidity.”

This time Roman gave a judgemental glance before Logan explained himself. “It got me out of that toxic environment, and I didn’t think of bringing anyone else into it. I found myself and lost my naivety that someone can love another so much that the love becomes eternal.” Logan seemed to avoid looking directly at his friend, instead kept his eyes glued on the small families entering the shop the two sat in for a coffee break.

“Yeah… Love sure is conditional…” Roman repeated what Logan had said before, when their sons had their first sleepover. Over time Roman had been inclined to agree, Janus’ love for him had seemed to turn off like a light switch. It was very sad that he was now alone with his toddler son.

*****

As of September however Roman thought differently. Sure, Janus’ love for him wasn’t eternal and was brushed away like an insect without a care. When Roman glanced at Logan he prayed for a different outcome. Logan was such a good man, a more amazing father to Virgil, and Patton and Virgil acted like brothers already. Logan would fit so well into Roman’s small family.

“So has anything happened recently?” Logan asked, his tainted blue eyes sparkling slightly with a smile. The smile almost made Roman’s face erupt in red for a moment, trying to think of anything to say that didn’t make it seem like Roman wanted to date Logan.

“I… I have a date.” Roman managed to whisper, followed by immediate regret.

“A date? Oh – you moved on quickly…” Logan sipped his coffee, moving his blue scarf around his neck and adjusting his glasses. Roman raised an eyebrow, unsure whether he was meant to be offended. “Does Patton know? Does the date know about Patton? I would recommend mentioning your son as soon as possible to avoid the kind of people similar to your ex.” Logan spoke quickly, possibly nervously, pulling on his black gloves while he spoke. But he didn’t seem to mind his best friend finding a partner, unfortunate for Roman’s desires. Roman attributed the nervousness to his concern over Patton, making Patton upset was the last thing either of them wanted – and it would be the same with Virgil too.

Roman thought about saving this cobweb of lies by telling Logan he was the other person participating in the date, but alas he was not that smooth. “Uh – yeah he knows about Patton. He has a kid too – two actually – he’s really a family guy so I thought that would be the best person to date.” Roman spurted anything he could think of, trying to make the mystery man sound similar to Logan to give him a hint, but also sounding like a different person to avoid suspicion. Logan nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer.

“Where did you meet this guy?” Logan was smiling wide now, seeming interested in what Roman was saying like he was watching an entertaining Disney film.

“Oh, he’s one of my dad’s patients.” Roman said calmly. It was a perfect alibi as it would cause Logan to constantly think about it while he was at work; Logan was in charge of Emile’s patients after all. Then maybe the jealousy would set in and Logan would fall in love. “So Patton’s seen him too, he’s a real good guy Lo.”

Logan gave another nod, looking away with a small smile. “What’s his name?”

“Uh, confidential. Dad said I shouldn’t tell anyone at Universe Therapies.” The next nod allowed Roman to let out a breath that there won’t be more details added. He thought he could add some details before Logan thought he was lying. “He has two boys named Gavin and Leo, aged 8 and 13.”

“Well, I hope it all goes well.” Logan chuckled after a small silence, checking his phone for a moment but then sitting up. “Oh is that the time? I’ve got work, sorry. Do you mind telling Emile I’ll pick V up at 3:30 rather than 2:45?” Logan quickly stood after Roman nodded, putting his dark blue coat on again and giving Roman another soft smile that made Roman’s heart skip a beat. “See you later Ro.” And with that Logan walked out of the shop. Roman’s smile dropped, Logan didn’t seem that affected by Roman’s new date, maybe there was no hope for dating Logan after all.

What Roman didn’t know was that Logan’s smile dropped too as soon as he left the coffee shop, and his mind didn’t stop telling him that he ‘missed his chance’.


	9. Confess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah this book is almost over! Come back this coming Wednesday (10th of Feb) for the last chapter
> 
> \------------
> 
> During a play date the toddlers realise their dads are in love with each other - and formulate a toddler-proof plan. Meanwhile Roman and Logan think about their crushes themselves, and realise that there is one thing they need to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote daddy so much in this chapter it's starting to not feel like a real word.
> 
> And I have no idea how to write POV of a three year old but hopefully this isn't annoying or hard to read (and it's not all Virgil's POV).

The park was beautiful in Virgil’s little toddler eyes. He’s only seen 3 autumns in his life but this by far was the best one. The world embodied the spooky season in all its orange colours. The leaves on the ground made a cracking sound, Virgil watched his father’s large feet stomp on the ground and exploding the dead plants into little fragments. He couldn’t wait to be as big as Daddy. When Virgil looked up at his dad though he saw a slight look of upset, and that worried him. “Daddy?”

“Yes kiddo?” Logan smiled down, picking his son up for a moment in case he wanted a cuddle. Virgil loved being held by his father, he was warm and smelled of cologne and peppermint, let alone how soft his arms were around him.

“You’re sad?” Logan paused his steady walk, looking at Virgil for a minute and stroking his hair. He only gave a small smile as Virgil tilted his head.

“Since when did you become so smart?” Logan whispered, cuddling his son before walking again. “I’m fine! It’s just that Roman told me Patton might get a new Daddy and I’m just a bit… worried…”

“Why are you worried Daddy?”

Logan didn’t respond to that question, only walked. Virgil nodded, sucking on his teddy Spider’s ear slightly as he sometimes did when he was focused on something. The pair soon entered to where they were walking, the play park, and Virgil spotted Patton waving at him. After he was let go from Logan’s arms, Virgil ran towards his best friend who was playing in the sandpit. “Patty!” Virgil screamed with a giggle and sat next to Patton. Patton was digging into the sand. “What you doing?” Virgil quieted, cuddling Spider and holding him to his lips.

“I’m going to find China!” Patton screamed in response, making Virgil flinch then giggle. He handed his friend a spade. “Wanna help?”

Virgil nodded and began slowly digging in the sand, trying to create a small pile next to him just in case an adult came over and told him he was being naughty. Unfortunately as the hole got deeper the pile seemed to decrease and the hole increase in depth as the pile rolled back into the hole. After a few more tries to keep the pile and the hole in tact he went back to hugging Spider again and watching his father. “My Uncle said that China is at the other side of the world! And they wear masks!” Virgil looked over for a moment to spot Patton putting on a tacky Halloween mask and then digging again.

“I want an Uncle…” Virgil said sadly, going into a ball without realising. He watched his Dad chatting and laughing with Roman, watching the two kids play. Virgil didn’t look too upset yet. “I want another Dad too! Why do you have both?” Virgil pouted and turned to Patton, and Patton stopped digging.

“I only have that Dad!” Patton pointed at Roman. Roman saw the point and smiled at the kids, waving over before talking with Logan again. Virgil looked confused at Patton as if he’d grown a second head. “Who told you I had another one? Dad and my other Dad don’t get on anymore.”

“My Daddy said…” Virgil said quietly, feeling as though Patton would hate him for suggesting there was another dad. Luckily Patton didn’t, realising Virgil was getting stressed, and gave him a large hug. “My Daddy said he’s worried about your daddy and this new daddy – was I bad?”

Patton thought for a second before exploding into a large infectious grin. “You’re not bad! Our daddies are in love! We’re going to be brothers!” Patton screamed so loud that Virgil was surprised the parents didn’t hear, then stood, holding Virgil’s hand and running to the other end of the play area. “Let’s go on the climbing frame to plan! We can make our daddies fall in love and live happily ever after just like the Disney princesses! I’ll hold Spider for you.”

Virgil and Patton sat on the top of the climbing frame. Their dads were laughing and joking with each other about something adults joke about. They were already pretty close, even Virgil could tell that, constantly nudging each other after jokes and sticking their tongues out at each other. That’s what Virgil thought love to be, although he didn’t have much experience or knowledge on it in his three years of life. “My Daddy already has a wedding suit – they can get married in summer! My old daddy was meant to marry Daddy in January so I’d be 4!” Patton giggled showing Virgil 4 fingers. 

For the rest of their play date Virgil and Patton planned how they were going to get their daddies to marry each other, just out of earshot from their unsuspecting parents. When they got off the climbing frame Virgil let a yawn escape him, cuddling into Spider and rubbing his eyes. Patton also yawned and wasn’t quite jumping as much as he used to although he did sound excited. Just as Virgil rubbed his eyes for a second time he was picked up and felt his father’s soft warm arms around him again. “Is it naptime buddy?” Logan whispered, making Virgil melt into his father’s chest and yawn as a response. He heard his father’s small laugh. “Aren’t you sleepy? Well, see you later Ro. Good luck with that second date.”

Virgil was fading in and out of sleep on the walk back from the park, holding onto both his father and Spider, the world around him being not nearly as loud as when he was awake and watching all the big people in their suits or on their phone calls like adults do. All he cared about was his father’s warmth and making sure Spider didn’t get lost on the way home. 

Logan sat on the sofa. He didn’t often take Virgil to bed for naps. He knew how rare it was to sit and cuddle a toddler, even a toddler as calm and docile as Virgil needed constant entertainment and games – and physical activity was needed to improve their development. That’s why Logan loved to cuddle his son during naptime, and maybe Logan knew that Virgil would soon grow out of naps so he wanted to cherish every moment of his sleeping son in his arms. It seemed unreal that it was almost October, and when April rolled around he’d be the father of a 4 year old. He couldn’t even imagine how Roman must be feeling thinking he’d enter the new year with a 4 year old. They weren’t babies anymore.

“Daddy…” Virgil mumbled in a groggy voice, sitting up a little while rubbing his eyes and mumbling. Logan encouraged him to lean back into a nap position again in case the little one was still tired. “Daddy… Patton said he only had one daddy…”

“Maybe Roman’s boyfriend isn’t Daddy yet kiddo. Maybe he’s just a friend of Daddy’s to not upset Patton.” Virgil smiled feeling the vibrations of his father’s voice as he leant against him, slowly carrying him into a sleep again. “Did Patton mention he had other friends to play with?” Virgil sleepily shook his head.

“He thinks his Daddy’s in love with you…” Virgil mumbled again, causing Logan to chuckle. “We want to be brothers.”

“Well, you can choose your family kiddo. If you want to be brothers with Patton you can, because in your heart you already are. Not all families are related by blood, as you already know with us.” Logan said, rocking his son back and forth a little to hopefully encourage him into a more deep sleep. He didn’t particularly want to chat with his toddler about his best friend’s love life (which he must admit he was getting slightly jealous of). Eventually he heard small snores from his son and was assured the little boy had entered the world of cuddle-naps.

*****

Roman spit the water he was drinking back into the cup and turned to his son. “That was not cool Pat. You upset Grandad.”

“I only told Virgil you were my only Dad! You say lying’s bad!” Patton smiled, playing with his dolls where two daddies were sat in the kitchen together cooking. Roman scowled under his breath, he didn’t account that his son was the most virtuous toddler out there. Yes he knew he shouldn’t lie to his friend but he needed some way to cope with rejection – and his son ruined it. “Grandad said ‘honesty is the best policy’ – he wasn’t happy you lied.”

He hadn’t told his family, especially his fathers, about the ‘fake date’ plan for that reason. His barista dad would be fine with it – “do what you gotta do to get dick” he’d say – his brother probably wouldn’t care about the morals either but also wouldn’t hide the secret for that long with his blabber mouth. Emile wasn’t happy when Patton asked about this second daddy, and when Roman tried to formulate a lie to tell his son the therapist immediately spotted the spiral of explanations and had a stern word to say. This left him to ‘do work somewhere else’ and now Roman had to admit the lie in the week to his best friend, or Emile would tell his favourite employee the truth – and he wouldn’t let Logan know nicely. 

“Pattoncake…” Roman mumbled, sitting with his son trying to think of something truthful to say. Even though his son was little he was quite mature with certain things. “Patton – I love Virgil’s daddy but I don’t want to hurt him. That was my way of dealing with it.”

This was not one of Patton’s mature times. He gasped and giggled. “Are you going to get married Dad?”

“No. He doesn’t want to be in love.” Patton stopped playing and looked confused at his father. Roman sighed again and dragged his son into a small hug. He could tell Patton’s little mind calculating how someone could not act like a Disney character in every second Patton was in the nearby vicinity. “It would be mean to make him fall in love kiddo. That’s what I tried to do with old daddy.”

“But Virgil said he’s been worried for a long long time about you and the other daddy. I think he loves you!” Patton then smiled, giggling and tugging on his father’s shirt trying to wield a similar excited grin. Roman only shook his head as a response. “Can’t you try Daddy? For me?” Roman shook his head again.

He knew he had to let the truth slip on the boys’ next sleepover, which would be that coming weekend. In that he’d confess his feelings, confront rejection, but hopefully remain friends with Logan. If he didn’t, that would be a problem, hopefully they’d still come to an agreement so their sons could be friends. If not – he can hide in his house for the rest of the year until the guilt goes away waiting for his son to forget about his play-date buddy.

*****

Logan sat in bed staring at his ceiling. He had just sent Virgil to bed, which always made him smile. He couldn’t think of anything else to do so decided to take an early night that night – dressed in his NASA pyjamas and biting his lips in thought. He should stick up glow in the dark stars on the ceiling like he had as a child. They could seem childish but Logan loved them and missed feeling like he was stargazing every night.

He could even arrange the stars into constellations like he wanted to do in high school. He was obsessed with constellations as a teenager – he was obsessed with any knowledge really – and went to the library every day to read books he ‘wasn’t allowed’ to take home. Constellations was one of them as they included religions other than his own. He felt like such a rebel telling his parents he was doing homework or going to church but instead running to the library whatever the weather just to learn.

It was kind of sad really. A lot of things were banned in his household: most music, social media, friends outside his parents’ small circle – even birthdays were never held by his family so celebrations relied on friends he wasn’t allowed to have.

He would never let Virgil have that life. He didn’t want Virgil to be hiding between bookshelves trying to absorb any information he’d get to feel full and secure. Virgil would never be under school bleachers with his friends figuring out who he was or what he liked from small cut-up pages of erotic magazines. He’d do anything to make Virgil happy.

Virgil wanted Roman Windsor. Well, he wanted another dad – and Roman was the only choice.

He viewed a teenage Virgil, with dyed purple hair and a bigger version of his favourite black and purple hoodie. His brain didn’t want to imagine his son smiling though, not at this moment, and it was upsetting. He just thought about how upset he’d be growing up if he wanted two dads but only got one. Every graduation, achievement, parents’ evening, birthday party would be filled with a sadness, voidness and jealousy that could never be fixed. And Logan couldn’t do anything about it on his own. He would need Roman Windsor for it.

Logan had to sit up to stop tears falling on his clean bedsheets, covering his eyes and sighing. He couldn’t let this crush on Roman go, as much as he wanted to for his pride. For his son, he had to confess.


	10. Netflix and Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman sends Patton off for a sleepover round his best friend's house - the night ends a lot differently than it started.

“Sleepover! Sleepover! Sleepover! Sleepover!” Patton cheered as he walked across the pavement, clapping and jumping in circles in front of his father. Roman wondered behind at a safe distance from his son’s flails – carrying the Disney suitcase that held both of their clothes and pyjamas for the exciting sleepover the toddlers were having. Roman, of course, was sleeping on the sofa that night. Patton ran up to his best friend’s house, knocking on the door then stepping back and waiting for his dad. Roman texted Logan that the pair were outside.

“Hi Patsy!” Roman heard a quiet cheer as he looked away from his phone, spotting a small Virgil at his father’s feet giving a wave to his friend then looking up at his dad. Patton giggled, excited to show his best friend the specific clothing he had begged since 2am to wear to the sleepover.

“Virgil – look!” Patton put his hood on of the hoodie he had decided to wear, then grabbed the strings and pulled it. The action caused the ears of this cat hoodie to perk up and down again, and Patton went into a laughing fit. Virgil followed the laughing, just quieter and holding his father’s hand. After a few more giggles Logan and Virgil stepped further inside to allow the father and son inside. 

Roman put Patton’s coat and his own coat on a nearby hanger beside two other coats belonging to the two other occupants of the house. The kids ran away from the parents upstairs; Virgil was chattering about some new toys Logan had bought him for ‘being a good boy that month’ and honestly Roman wasn’t surprised Logan spoilt his little boy with random gifts like that. 

A slight cough made Roman turn from hanging his coat and lay his eyes on his friend. The nerd was slightly red-faced, fiddling with the black turtleneck he was wearing and smiling shyly. The look of the amazing man Roman had fallen in love with also caused him to burst into red and quickly turn away. “I – I – I’ll turn the heating down.” Logan stammered, running to the thermostat and fiddling with it to avoid Roman’s gaze. He was obviously shaking.

“Uh… What’s for dinner tonight?” Roman said, slowly stepping forward and sitting on the sofa to watch his friend. Logan took a deep breath and turned back to Roman, sitting next to him.

“I’d say whatever you’d like. I feel in a takeaway mood today – to be easy.” Logan visibly relaxed, leaning his head on the sofa and smiling slightly, adjusting his glasses. “That’s if you don’t mind – you know if you wanted to take this opportunity to have an overnight date with that guy it would be fine. I get it.”

“No, no, let’s get takeaway together.” Roman gave a soft smile back and also relaxed. There was a moment of silence as the dads listened out for their children’s healthy, happy screams. He then looked at the TV in thought for a moment. “Shall we watch something?”

So that’s exactly what the two did, watch TV together. They sat at opposite ends of the sofa, not looking at each other out of nervousness, scouring through Netflix to find random TV shows and movies they wouldn’t have thought about watching alone. They enjoyed it, Roman found fashion and makeup competitions that he taught Logan about, and Logan found documentary after documentary that he geeked over while Roman listened – and fell in love even more. The entire night he just wanted to lean over and kiss him, including through their takeaway pizza dinner with the toddlers. Bedtime seemed easy as they shared the bedtime routine and eventually they were back on the sofa watching TV.

Roman was stuck in the world of Netflix until he heard Logan take a deep breath to make him look over. “I need to tell you something – well – ask you something.” Logan said quickly but clearly, not looking at his friend and only at the screen. Roman sat up with a raised eyebrow – then realised this was his chance.

“Yes… I do too…”

Logan seemed shocked, his wide eyes turning quickly to look at Roman and face him. So the two were facing each other, as nervous as anything and trying to calm themselves down. “What… What do you have to say?”

Roman took a deep breath, looking down for a moment but meeting eyes with his friend before he spoke. “I lied about seeing this guy, I haven’t seen anyone actually – not in the way of a date anyway.” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, then he looked away trying to think of what to say. Why would he lie about something so small in Logan’s mind? Roman sighed before speaking again, relatively quickly. “I just wanted something to distract myself from the real love I’m feeling that I know I can’t have. That person is-“

“Janus Sceptre. I get it.” Logan interrupted, responding just as quickly and grabbing the nearby now empty bowl. “Running away from your love without processing a break up is a difficult thing. It doesn’t matter, you want more popcorn?” Logan waved the bowl slightly, his face neutral – no smile or happiness in his face. Roman’s mind, however, was absolutely frantic.

“I want you to sit.” Roman said almost breathlessly, keeping his eyes on his friend as he looked more confused and sat again. “Janus wasn’t the reason I lied. I love you, do with that what you will. I want to have a relationship with you.”

There was a minute of silence. Roman wondered if he fucked up, prayed he didn’t fuck up, he just wanted to be with Logan. He couldn’t imagine a life without him, even if they weren’t friends anymore – and they had only been friends for a few months. Logan stood, still in silence and grabbed the bowl again to get more popcorn. There was again no hint of emotion, but he paused and placed the bowl down. Roman had no idea what his friend was doing.

That was until Logan turned to Roman, grabbed the crimson jumper he was wearing with both hands and dragged him in. Then their lips met, for a moment Logan paused again and let the warmth and softness overtake him, moving a leg onto the sofa so he also lay down almost straddling Roman. Then passion overtook him, as he balanced himself on top of Roman with one arm while the other hand covered Roman’s rosy cheek. Roman was kissing back and it was complete heaven. Logan could imagine his teenage self, when this was all he desired and finally he was having it. He was kissing a really hot guy – and the hot guy was kissing back.

Everything was bliss until the pair heard two quiet gasps. “Daddy – what are you doing?” Logan heard Virgil’s voice chirp and immediately, but regrettably, he separated from Roman’s lips. He could spot Roman catch his breath and glance at Logan’s lips again before slowly starting to sit up, his facial expression could only be described as astonishment. Logan walked over to his son and picked him up, then gave a small smile to the nearby Patton.

“What are you two doing up? It’s bedtime isn’t it?” Logan cheered, ruffling his son’s hair. The little 3 year old looked overjoyed, watching Roman also walk over and try to calm from his flustered and blushing state.

“Do I have two daddies, Daddy?” Virgil asked and both Roman and Logan nodded in unison, then laughed. Roman brought one arm around Logan’s shoulder and the other was holding Patton’s hand. Patton also seemed to have wide eyes watching Logan. “Wait – I have a brother too?” Virgil screamed more excited, which received another nod and a cheer from Patton.

“But let’s get both of you back to bed, kiddos. We can talk about this in the morning.” Roman smiled, picking up Patton and then giving Logan a peck of a kiss, also taking Virgil in his other arm, before walking upstairs with his two kids in tow. Logan couldn’t help but smile wide, happy about the new life he was about to start.

*****

5 years later…

Logan sat in bed at 10am, switching between attending work emails and scrolling through Facebook. He had just got back from driving his sons to school – to elementary school, he couldn’t believe how quickly the years had gone - so wanted to relax but also felt as though he needed to work to pass the time. So this lead to him doing a mixture of both, in bed where it was warm. 

Logan’s husband, Roman, walked into the bedroom from the en-suite bathroom and combed through his wet hair, humming a Disney song from the weekend before when the family all went out to watch a movie at the cinema. Just the look of Roman, completely relaxed and in his own peaceful world, made Logan look down at the ring on his husband’s finger. The moment Logan decided he was willing to risk everything to stay with the man in front of him forever, through thick and thin.

Logan turned back to Facebook. He knew he was going to be utterly distracted from his work now his husband was in the near vicinity. He ended up just scrolling through, looking at crazily specific advertisements and posts from people he hadn’t spoken to since high school. He read a few adverts given to him, thinking about buying some weird Wish products or giving to the cat charity that was always recommended to him after Patton was allowed to ‘do homework’ on his Dad’s laptop. He loved his kids even though they were half the reason for these interesting advertisements.

Roman lay on the bed next to his husband and kissed his cheek, a big goofy smile on his face looking at the man he loved. Logan carried on scrolling, then paused and his eyes widened slightly. Roman raised an eyebrow and also looked at the computer screen at the specific advert Logan had paused at.

“Thomas has never felt the love of a warm home and family, help him feel happy and avoid life without love.” Logan read the advert softly and slowly, leaning on his husband’s shoulder with a small smile gracing his face. The charity advert didn’t show a dog or cat, but instead a child. A small toddler with large hazel eyes and shaggy dark blond hair staring up at the camera with a lollipop. It was for some nearby children’s home wanting more adoptive parents. “That’s Thomas…”

“That’s our son.” Roman responded, the sentence phrased half as a sentence and half as a statement. The husbands then turned to each other, and silently Logan’s face became even softer and he smiled and nodded.

“That’s our third little boy…”

And at that point Logan had long forgotten his theory. Love wasn’t conditional. It was eternal, both his love for his existing kids, his love for his husband, and the love for the poster child in front of him needing to feel arms around him telling him everything will be OK.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end guys! Thank you for the reads and hopefully there are more reads to come.
> 
> Right now I'm writing Ghosts - an analogical fanfiction and requests are still there for my one-shot version of Family is What You Make It.
> 
> Would you guys like a final chapter added of little Thomas?


	11. Epilogue - EXTRA CHAPTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few extra short stories! Sorry this took me so long :)

Roman unlocked the door of his parent’s house and walked in. It was unusually quiet everywhere; Patton was still playing with his stepbrother in his house – Roman’s boyfriend watching over them. He erupted into a smile thinking of that word. Logan Yerkes-Dodson was his boyfriend, he couldn’t believe it. After their kiss the pair decided that boyfriends was what fit their relationship, and Logan even offered for Roman to move in. So Roman had to return to his family home, update his parents on the move and pack. He was practically shaking with excitement.

His parents, Emile and Remy Windsor, were sat at the dining room table having breakfast together. Remy sipped his coffee while Emile was typing quickly on his laptop. Both their heads turned when they spotted their son entering the house without his little energy ball and with a wide smile and a blushing face.

“Where’s Patton kiddo?” Emile chirped, nudging the chair next to him so Roman could sit. Remy sipped his coffee again, louder, and raised an eyebrow at his son.

“He’s at Logan’s. There’s kind of some big news…” Roman almost squealed in his excitement, struggling to keep still and kicking his legs back and forth like a small child who got their first crush. This was exactly like that, every fibre of his being was telling Roman that this was true love and Logan was the one that he’d be spending the rest of his life with. Emile smiled softly and Remy chuckled.

“Was it an 18+ sleepover for you kiddo?” Remy said calmly even though he held his normal mischievous smile as Roman became red. Emile elbowed his husband in response trying to hide his own laugh.

Nothing during the night had resorted to that, even though the pair were dating now. In fact after the kiss and the pair sending their sons to bed for the second time they only exchanged cuddles and quick pecks on the lips. When it became time for the two adults to sleep Logan mentioned he wasn’t comfortable sharing a bed just yet. Roman slept on the sofa as he had done on the boys’ sleepovers previously, and he didn’t mind as long as his new boyfriend was comfortable. “No… But Logan and I are a – couple now…” Roman smiled more watching his pink wearing father’s eyes glow excitedly as he clapped his hands.

“Oh yes! You two are the cutest together! I’m so glad to have Logan as a son in law!” Emile was screaming excitedly, shaking his husband and giggling. Patton definitely got his infectious laughter and happiness from his Grandad. Roman was smiling until he registered the meaning of ‘son in law’ in this context. Then the blush came.

“I – Daaad! We aren’t married yet don’t say that!” 

Emile only giggled as Remy’s hand went around him, looking at his drama loving son with the most happiness and love in the world. It felt nice, Emile knew Logan well so he knew his father approved of their relationship. That was more than his relationship with Janus where only Roman properly knew him. It felt like fate the two were meant to end up together.

“Yeah Emmy he needs to have the dick first…” Remy whispered, keeping in his character and giving his husband a nuzzle. Emile punched him playfully again and giggled, leaning on his husband. Roman wished this relationship would be like the one he watched his parents go through everyday, it was so lovely to watch those two grow old and still love each other so much.

Roman left his thoughts, perking up again. “Oh – and I’m moving in with him today.”

Quickly Roman left as his father did more freaking out, telling Remy how ‘as soon as he lay eyes on Logan he knew the two of them would fall in love’ and ‘Virgil finally has a grandad and he will spoil him dry even more now’. Roman continued with his smile, excited to begin his life with his boyfriend.

*****

“Roman and Logan Windsor, can you come into the play room?” The soft spoken social worker said to the two husbands in the waiting room. Logan and Roman were holding hands, Logan leaning on his husband slightly and with a slight nervous expression. This was a big moment for them – they were expanding their family again. Today the husbands would meet the child they had been planning to adopt for a few months now, the little boy they fell in love with on the poster: Thomas. What if Logan didn’t bond with him correctly? He was quite lucky getting Virgil as a newborn so there were no attachment issues for either of them but adopting a child was a whole different story. Thomas was 2, almost 3 as his birthday was in April and it was January at this visit. And psychologically that meant Thomas was the perfect age to reject any caregiver presented to him.

The playroom was a quaint little room. One side was a one-way window where the social workers sat and analysed behaviour of the child and the other side was millions and millions of different toys. The wallpaper was rainbow and the floor was carpet, perfect for entertaining kids.

Logan felt his husband clutch his hand causing him to look in the same direction his lover was staring. In the corner of the room they saw him, a small toddler surrounded by Legos and sucking his thumb; he didn’t yet realise the room was occupied by two new people.

Instincts kicked in for Logan without much thought, a smile on his lips as he sat beside a dollhouse with Roman following. With the added noise Thomas turned, tilting his head and staring. Roman smiled softly, speechless until Logan spoke.

“Hey kiddo, what’s your name?” Logan whispered, keeping his distance from the little boy. Safe to say he was adorable, reminded Logan of Virgil at that age. He wore plain blue jeans with a red t-shirt that had a yellow star on it, and his dirty blond hair was as messy as in the photos.

“Thomas…” Thomas mumbled in return, still with his thumb stuck in his mouth and holding a few Lego pieces. The word made both husbands smile goofily and turn to him fully.

“Well, I’m Logan and this is my husband Roman.” Logan pointed to Roman. Both men grabbed a doll each. “Do you want to play with us?”

Thomas stepped closer a few steps then stopped, dropping the Legos. “Why?”

“Because we want to be friends with you!”

That seemed like an adequate answer for the little toddler as he walked closer and took a doll. He leaned in the house and patted the doll’s feet against the floor probably playing his own game in his head. From what the couple gathered (from asking social workers many questions before this first meeting) Thomas was very imaginative and played with his close friends perfectly fine but was a bit more weary to play with strangers. He was a perfect mix of their two current kids and made them fall in love more.

Every single day Logan and Roman entertained little Thomas with games and joked and songs, lasting for about a fortnight. Luckily he warmed up to them quickly, showing them his favourite toys and talking about his friends. Their favourite moment was when Logan was looking through all the toddler books and asking Thomas about them and Thomas decided to sit on Roman’s lap. They knew Thomas was the third little kid they wanted before they came to play with him, but they were even more sure now.

“Are you Daddy?” Thomas looked up to Logan with a smile as he was colouring in a small colouring book. Logan nodded happily, holding his husband’s hand. Thomas then turned to Roman. “Are you Dada?”

“Well, I’m usually called Padre but you can call me Dada if you want to.” Roman’s soft voice made Thomas look at him confused. Ever since Roman and Logan began living together they had to distinguish themselves somewhat instead of both being ‘Daddy’ – so Roman was Padre due to his love of the Spanish language.

“Who says Padre?”

Roman looked back at Logan, asking him at which point to bring up that Thomas wouldn’t be the only child. They didn’t think it would be too big of a deal, Patton and Virgil were excited for their little brother and were good at playing with smaller children at the park. Eventually with a small smile of agreement came across the two faces and Roman spoke gently again. “You have two big brothers at home. They can’t wait to meet you.”

Thomas looked up from his colouring book again, sucking the end of his crayon for a moment in thought, letting his fathers look at his concerned and then give more information. “They’re a little bit bigger than you, they’re 8 – so 6 years older than you.” Logan whispered, holding six fingers up. Thomas smiled and walked closer, cuddling up to Roman slightly. “And they love to play games, you’ll fit right in.”

And Thomas did fit right in. On the first day Thomas spent in Logan and Roman’s house Thomas ran straight to the dollhouse by the TV, soon followed by Virgil and Patton. The three kids played; Thomas began breaking out of his shell around the other boys with Logan and Roman watching. They had their family with their new little addition: Thomas Finlay Windsor.

*****

“Virgil, Spider can’t come with you to the pool buddy.” Roman spoke gently, tying up Thomas’ shoes and looking over to Virgil. It was summer break and Logan was spending the day at work so Roman decided to take his family out to the swimming pool. However, this did involve getting his three chaotic kids ready. Virgil pouted and held Spider close to his lips, walking up to Roman just like he did when they first met years ago. It might have been 5 years since then but that small pose had never stopped being cute. When Thomas’ shoes were tied the toddler ran off to check on his other brother, leaving Roman still smiling at his little dark haired son. “Do we need to have a fight Virgil?” Roman spoke mischievously. Virgil giggled and stepped back but still held Spider to his lips.

Before Virgil could step back any further he was picked up and slung over his Dad’s shoulder; Roman making all kinds of grunts and laughs and running around a little while Virgil screamed and giggled. “I’m taking you to the evil Dragon Witch Virgil! Come on!” Roman kept on repeating, trying to hold his laugh as well. He’d miss these small moments of carrying his sons around, that was part of the reason they adopted Thomas as well as loving each other deeply, but right now he worked hard to find any opportunity to treat his kids like kids before they were adults and those days would be long in the past.

The door knocked loudly making Roman pause in place. He tried to think of who could visit him: Grandpa was at work with Logan, Grandad was working in the café, and Uncle Remus was probably out partying at 10am. Logan definitely wouldn’t leave work unless there was an actual emergency.

“I’ll get it Padre!” Patton gleamed, running away from the game he was playing with Thomas to get the door. Roman placed Virgil back on the floor, wondering whether there was good or bad news at the other side. “D-Dad?” Patton almost shouted, his face becoming confused and scared as he looked back at Roman. Roman immediately ran to the door expecting to see Logan and bracing himself for bad news. It wasn’t Logan though.

“Janus?”

The door slammed before Roman could register what his body was doing. It had been six years since Roman walked out on his engagement to the city lawyer – and he decided to appear just to haunt him. Roman thought that part of him was over, it was like a different person at this point, he was happy with his husband and three kids he didn’t need his lying evil ex-fiance.

He took a deep breath. “Boys? Go upstairs for a sec please.” Roman knew Janus would still be at the other side of the door and wouldn’t leave until they spoke. His sons didn’t seem to mind the sudden change in tone and instruction, the two boys almost carrying their toddler brother upstairs who had never heard about Roman’s past relationship. With another breath he opened the door again.

There was a slight register of surprise when Roman saw Janus walking down the driveway with his hands in his pockets. He wondered whether he should just let the man that threw their lives away go, but eventually decided in was time for Roman to face that part of his past head on. For Patton’s sake – he lived through it too. “Janus?” Roman called out making Janus turn quickly and walk back. Now was the problem of how to talk to your ex after 6 years. “Hey…”

“I just came to apologise.” Janus spoke gently, a tone of voice Roman missed and hadn’t heard since their college days. “I’m sorry.”

“OK…” Roman knew more than anyone that Janus apologising was a big deal, but his heart wouldn’t take it. It had been broken and only his family made it feel full, and Janus wasn’t family. Janus didn’t seem surprised by this null reaction and just nodded, looking away for a moment. “Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Well…” Janus said quietly, taking a deep breath himself. “I wouldn’t mind being in you and Pat’s life again, I realised I really missed it once you left.” Even though Roman gave Janus the most unimpressed look he could muster he continued, staring at the welcome mat on the doorstep. “Like returning from work… I miss coming back from a bad day of court and just having like Patton run up to me and you giving me a ki-“

Janus’ ramble was interrupted as a dark blue car came into the drive, making Roman finally smile. A man Janus didn’t know came out of the car, looking at the new person confused. Roman ran up to him, gave him a hug and a kiss, and Janus’ heart dropped. That was a perfect couple: the two men held each other with wide smiles like they never wanted to let go. Noise came from inside the house, and three kids ran through the open door – past Janus without a care and to hug their ‘dad’. There was no need for Janus anymore. This guy Roman found was perfect.

Roman leaned over his partner – husband he realised when he saw their matching wedding rings.

“Hello. I’m Logan.” The perfect man appeared in front of Janus, holding his hand out while the other was used to hold up a boy in a purple t-shirt the same age as Patton. Janus nodded and shook the hand, trying not to look Logan in the eye. “Do you want to come inside?” Janus heard a small stuttering argument from Roman, but Logan sighed. “Honey, we should teach our boys forgiveness. We can do this together.” Logan reached for Roman’s hand. Roman was already occupied trying to hold both Patton and a small toddler Janus didn’t know.

“I’ll come inside… yeah…” Janus was almost breathless, his replacement had accepted him. And quickly too; he really was the perfect man. Logan walked inside, placing the boy he was holding on the floor and whispering to him before speaking to Roman.

“Yeah I finished all the work early so Emile ordered me home… Oh did you draw that buddy?” Logan was switching between talking to Roman with the most loving tone and talking to the kids surrounding him in a light and jokey tone. Janus felt stupid for repeating the same phrase again, but Logan did seem to be all Roman wanted – and all Janus failed to be. “Do you want coffee Janus?”

And from then on Janus slowly got back into the Windsor’s life again. Not romantically, but he was glad to have any role he could. There was no bad blood between him and Logan, he eventually whispered that he was grateful the past relationship happened so Patton was brought out of the foster system and into his life. But he was a great father, husband, and eventually friend. They became friends pretty quick chatting to each other about philosophy and psychology. Life was nice.

*****

“Come here little mischievos!” Roman shouted, spotting Thomas running towards him out of the Kindergarten. He missed his baby boy when he was at school, the ‘twins’ were in middle school now so were gone for most of the day too. This meant Roman was alone most of the day, entertaining himself by visiting Logan or his father at work. Logan and him have been talking about Roman getting a job now all three boys were grown up a little, but there was no rush.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Thomas screamed and waved a piece of paper in front of him with a wide smile. Roman knelt down, picking the little boy up even though he was getting heavier being almost six. “You need to sign this permishy slip!”

Roman walked towards the car, taking the slip and reading it through as much as he could focus. Most of his mind was focusing on picking Virgil and Patton up from school – and Virgil was getting severely bullied so he needed to be prepped to not punch a twelve year old. Thomas always cheered them up after a tough day of school.

But this slip was different. After putting Thomas in his car seat he read it fully before driving. The school-children were learning about musicals in music, and because of that there was this local theatre club coming to entertain them. Roman had heard about them before but didn’t believe it was an actual charity – they went around the state inspiring young children to look into or follow a passion in musical theatre and drama. At the bottom of the paper was a phone number to call, meant to be for parents to ask questions about the company, but it was also the number for volunteers. Maybe that’s how he could entertain himself…

“Dada can we go see Virgil?”

Roman chuckled and drove, placing the permission slip into his pocket. He could mention it to Logan later, although he was sure he would say yes to anything Roman wanted. And then his life would finally be settled: with his three kids, his house, the job he loved, and the husband he loved even more.


End file.
